Since I appear to finally be moved to write my long-overdue annual round-up from the now-distant 2023, let's economize on that special special combination of no shame and semi-adequate amounts of time and ability to concentrate and wrap this up in a messy little bow with Part 3: The Best Movies!
The surprisingly extensive highest-rated movies I watched in 2023 were:
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Emily the Criminal (2022)
Spirited Away (2001)***
Norma Rae (1979)
Persona (1966)***
Late Spring (1949)
Early Summer (1951)
Rome, Open City (1945)
Broadcast News (1987)
Die Hard (1988)***
The Lego Movie (2014)***
Palm Springs (2020)***
Autumn Sonata (1978)
Le Samouraï (1967)***
Wish Dragon (2021)
Stutz (2022)
Plus One (2019)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Dancing with the Birds (2019)***
Barbie (2023)
Running with Speed (2023)
The Lego Movie (2014)***
What a gift that there were so many 5-rated movies in one year!
It seems that I'll need to apply the same approach I used in my Part 2 post, given that I don't have the same clarity and intensity of memory for each of these movies, which may in and of itself be a way in which the most positively impactful movies rise to the top.
I'll start by acknowledging the multiple beloved movies that were rewatches: Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", Bergman's "Persona", "Die Hard", "The Lego Movie", "Palm Springs", the French New Wave jewel "Le Samouraï", "Dancing with the Birds", and "The Lego Movie" again. Each of these films are such treasures in their own right, and I'm so grateful to have revisited them (although that re-visitation was disconcertingly yet fittingly unintentional with "Persona"). Even within that relatively crowded field, some of my most deeply beloved movies that I've returned to over and over again stand out for me, like "The Lego Movie" and "Dancing with the Birds". So many of those rewatched movies are so freaking fun, in addition to having a lovely depth and deftness of execution.
On the other hand, while not exactly fun, Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samouraï" was such a rich text I wrote extensive notes on it for a post that unfortunately has yet to materialize. And on that note, I similarly responded to watching "Broadcast News" for the first time. I still hope to sort through all my thoughts and feelings in a post. The notes are still on hand for both of those movies, so maybe one day they'll come to fruition.
As you can see, the movies I watched for the first time in this year's top movies list are all over the map in terms of release date. I went through phases in 2023 where I wanted to devour as many classics and major cultural touchstones as I could, like "Norma Rae", "Autumn Sonata", and "Rome, Open City". Then I had other phases where I was on the hunt for child-friendly movies that might be values-consistent for our family, like with "Wish Dragon" and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse". And then there were one or two times where I fell down a little rabbit hole with a single artist, like with Yasujirō Ozu's "Late Spring" and "Early Summer".
So how to decide which, of all of these wonderful movies, is 2023's favorite?
To make this choice, I'm going with my gut, which has continued to hold deep warmth and love for this movie. I'm also guided by the fact that this film has continued to reveal new layers and themes upon a second glance, and I therefore expect to return to it many times in the future. It's funny, inventive, thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful. It's also about a theme that, now that I think about it, always manages to keep a strong hold on me: the nature of love and what love looks like in practice.
My favorite move in 2023 is therefore, at long last:
With that, let's get on with 2025. With gusto.
{Heart}
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